Memories Wrapped in a Name
by ImLuvinMyThesaurus
Summary: Charlie asks Monroe why he always calls her Charlotte...some family history comes out, and her opinions about him shift.


**A/N: I began this before season two started (and decided to get this one polished up yesterday-it's quite fluffy, but fun), as I am a huge fan of him using her full name. I'm not so happy that he's changed to calling her Charlie like everyone else now-NOOOOO! So, in my world he still calls her Charlotte, lol. I hope you all enjoy and I'm working on a few other things to post soon! Comments are always wonderful, so let me know what you think!**

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**Memories Wrapped in a Name**

Charlie raised the glass of whiskey to her lips, sipping slowly, just managing to keep the wince off her face from the hard bite of the alcohol across her tongue. All the while she kept her eyes on the man sitting across from her. Sebastian Monroe. She couldn't shake him. Ever since she found him in New Vegas, tried to kill him, and instead saved his life, he'd been a constant shadow. He spouted some bullshit about owing Miles and her mother, but Charlie wasn't buying.

And he wasn't leaving.

It was annoying really, him hanging around all the time. She had left Texas to get away from her mother and all the memories of how fucked up her life had gotten in the last year and here she was with the man who was pretty much the root cause of everything sitting across from her, sharing a bottle.

She didn't trust him, which is why she watched him so intently, she kept waiting to see that dark, power-hungry man make a reappearance. But for all of her heavy staring, 'General Monroe' seemed to have vanished and she was just stuck with her uncle's best friend. Obviously he was a chameleon, she just didn't know if she could believe the new persona he seemed to have adopted so readily.

"Do I have something on my face Charlotte, or am I just that handsome?" Bass asked roguishly.

Blinking, Charlie felt a blush light her cheeks. "What?" she asked stupidly.

Chuckling, Bass drained his glass, and reached for the bottle in the middle of the table, slowly pouring himself another shot. "You haven't taken your eyes off of me all evening, except when the door opens. All this attention gives a man ideas."

Charlie grimaced, not bothering with a response. She looked away, swinging her hair purposefully to try hiding her blush, but from the corner of her eye she saw his smile widen and knew she'd failed.

"Do I make you nervous Charlotte?" Bass asked innocently.

She looked back at him, running her eyes over his tanned face. Ignoring his question, she asked one of her own. "Why do you do that?"

Tilting his head, Bass raised an eyebrow. "Charlotte, I'm not a mind-reader."

Huffing, Charlie crossed her arms. "That! Why do you insist on always calling me that name...Charlotte!"

"It's yours, isn't it?" He asked, purposefully being obtuse.

"No one uses it but you." Sighing, Charlie asked tiredly, "Why can't you just give me a simple answer?"

Leaning back in his chair, Bass seemed to ponder her question. He raised the glass to his lips, taking a small sip, his eyes running across her face. "I knew you as a child Charlotte," he stated.

She wasn't expecting that. "What?"

"You heard me," he replied.

Twisting slightly in her chair, she pulled her leg up against her chest, for some reason needing something to hold onto, a barricade of sorts. "Alright, what does that have to do with using my full name?"

"After my family was killed, your parents always invited me to join you guys for holidays," he said, frowning slightly. "They didn't want me to be alone on base, stuck in my thoughts, didn't think it would be good for me."

Charlie shifted uncomfortably; she knew his family was dead-she'd seen the tombstones, but no one would speak about it. She wanted to ask, but figured it wasn't the right time.

His lips thinned, and he seemed to guess at the direction her thoughts had taken. "A story for another time Charlotte," he murmured softly.

Looking at him, Charlie left all thought of his family for later contemplation. "So, you met me when I was a kid?"

Bass nodded. "Several times. I usually joined Miles for visits back to the midwest as I could see my family at the same time."

He took another short sip of whiskey, running his tongue across his bottom lip. Charlie couldn't help but follow the motion, and when his lips quirked at the corners, she dragged her eyes up to meet his. The ass _winked_ at her, and she looked away huffily.

"I even held you a time or two," he said.

Choking on air, Charlie couldn't believe what he was saying. "You held me?" This was news to her. General Monroe, formerly unhinged, crazy despot of the militaristic Monroe Republic held her when she was a child? Just how close had he been to her parents? She thought he was only friends with Miles, not both her parents as well.

Pushing these questions aside for the moment, Charlie thought about the slightly disturbing flavor this lent their interactions. He was always flirting with her, making innuendos, and mentioning things that were really inappropriate (though slightly arousing-but she'd never admit it), given their history, respective ages, and especially this new information that he held her as a baby.

"We spent a lot of our leave visiting with your family; it was always fun to play with you kids, but with Danny so sick and your parents taking care of him, Miles and I mostly hung out with you," he said.

She didn't say anything, merely watched him as he gazed into his glass like it was a portal to the past.

"Miles and I hadn't seen you guys for nearly a year because of training and our deployment to Afghanistan. He adored you and was worried you wouldn't remember him, but you had a picture of him next to your bed and he would talk to you sometimes on the computer, so you knew him. You ran right into his arms the minute he walked in the door, like a little whirlwind." He smiled fondly at the memory. "You didn't remember me though, not that I expected you to; I'd missed the previous holidays because of my family."

He paused to take a sip of his drink before glancing up at her. "Miles started to introduce us and you just stood there imperiously staring at me in this cute frilly dress, with uneven hair-clips, holes in your stockings, and missing one of your shoes. You put your hands on your hips and told me you couldn't see my face because I was too tall and how could we possibly be introduced if you couldn't look me in the eyes and shake my hand."

Charlie could feel her face heating up, but was nonetheless fascinated by the picture he was painting with his words.

"I got down on my knees and told you my name was Bass and I was a friend of your uncle Miles. You proceeded to tell me that couldn't possibly be my name because it was a type of fish, and who would name a man after a fish," he said, lips quirking at the memory.

Charlie couldn't help but chortle softly.

Bass seemed to relish the sound as his smile widened again, crinkling the lines around his eyes. "Before I could explain, you proceeded to ask me if I came from a family of mermaids or fishermen as those were the only ways it would be acceptable for me to have a fishy name."

Charlie interrupted, "Are you serious? Where were my parents?"

"I'm definitely serious, you can ask Miles next time you see him," Bass said. "As to where your parents were, your father was standing behind you, laughing at your antics just as much as Miles was. Your mother was most likely tending to Danny; she usually was back then."

Bass looked over at her and she nodded in acceptance. His eyes scanned the room, taking up the tale once more. "I told you it was just a nickname and that my real name was Sebastian. You told me that was much better so I wouldn't be mixed up with a fish because fish smelled and I didn't want anyone to think I was a smelly man."

Charlie couldn't hide the smile as he told her about the long-forgotten moment from her childhood.

Bass looked back at Charlie, mouth hitching up at the corner. "I was always good with the ladies, but you were a ball-breaker even then," he said smugly. "Miles was trying his hardest not to fall down laughing; the bastard was no help."

Charlie didn't even try to quiet the laugh that bubbled up that time. The picture he was painting was so funny and sweet...and innocent. The last thought cut the laughter off. No one was innocent anymore.

"Was that it?" she asked him when he was silent for a few minutes.

"No, you then told me you would always call me Sebastian and that I could call you Charlotte as only your family was allowed to call you Charlie. It was rather cute, you were such a bossy, little thing," Bass said softly looking down at the table for a few seconds, before glancing back up. "I of course agreed and took your hand in mine, raised it to my mouth-"

Gaping at him wide-eyed, Charlie interrupted him, "And you kissed my hand, calling me Lady Charlotte."

Startled, Bass's eyes locked with hers. "You remember."

The two were silent for a long moment, gazes fixed as they remembered the shared incident from years earlier.

"I didn't until just now," she admitted quietly. Staring at him with new eyes, Charlie remembered the event from nearly two decades ago. "I disliked you at first, but after that...," she broke off embarrassed, looking away.

"You had a crush on me," Bass said smugly. Charlie's eyes flew back to his and he smirked.

"I did not," she objected hotly.

"Oh you did," Bass assured. "You kept twisting back and forth, swishing your skirt, telling me you liked my curly hair and pretty blue eyes," he said laughing.

Charlie knew her face was verging on the color of a tomato, but decided to refrain from speech for the moment, unsure if anything would come out but inelegant syllables. He seemed to realize this and waited for her to regain her speaking abilities.

"Really?" she asked, mortified.

'Yes," he conceded, nodding. "That entire trip you would sit next to me as much as possible, even held my hand a couple times." Bass paused to take a deep swallow of whiskey. "From then on you always called me Sebastian, I always called you Lady Charlotte and you would impatiently wait for me to kiss your hand at every meeting."

"I was four," she muttered in her defense.

"You were," Bass said, watching her intently, eyes glinting. "And as adorable then as you are beautiful now."

Charlie was flustered and could feel her face heating up again from the compliment, so she leaned forward to refill her drink, anything but looking at him. Only he made her feel this way: unsettled, nervous, and slightly aroused. It was the last emotion she really hated, or at least tried to hate. And she just knew he did it on purpose.

Clearing her throat she finally looked back at Bass. "What did Miles think of all this?"

His eyes ran over her face for a few seconds, seemingly searching for something, before he finally answered. "Miles thought it was the funniest thing ever and wouldn't let me live it down. We'd be in a bar weeks later and I'd be trying to get lucky and he'd mention how upset my girlfriend Charlotte was going to be with my behavior. Cockblocking asshole."

Her lips tilted up at that information; it sounded like something her uncle would do. Miles was gifted with a uniquely singular sense of humor.

"So, now you know why I always use your full name. I was under orders and I don't think I'll be changing how I think of you after all these years," he proclaimed in mock solemnity.

They were quiet for several long moments, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

"I really liked it when you called me Lady Charlotte." She finally said, softly.

"I did too, as it was something special, just between the two of us. I hadn't had that with a child since my sisters were killed," he said, sadly.

The moment was heavy and Charlie decided to break it with a joke. "You don't call me that now, the Lady bit," she teased. Part of her was amazed she could act this way around him, but how things could change in 20 minutes after a decent conversation with the man.

"I will if you want me to." He offered softly, eyes once again moving across her features.

Looking down, Charlie took another sip of her drink, studying the tabletop. Glancing back up, she gave Bass a small smile, the first honest one she'd ever directed at him, and from the surprise on his face he wasn't expecting it, but was nevertheless pleased by it. "Charlotte's fine, Sebastian," she said.

His face relaxed into a relieved smile, eyes ever watchful on her face.

Charlie took a long swallow of her drink and pondered the evening. She now had an answer to Bass's constant use of her full name, and the memory he'd recreated for her, had been something sweet she hadn't been expecting in the least from him. As she took in her surroundings and finished the last of her drink, she ruminated over the conversation and her reaction to it; she felt puzzled, a bit off kilter, and wasn't sure how to act around him now. It was funny how a little conversation could shift things around so much.

She sighed, leaving it for another time, looking back at the man-his eyes were still on her. Charlie may have started the evening with her eyes firmly planted on him, but by the end of it, he's the one constantly watching her, nearly memorizing her features. And against her will, Charlie finds herself enjoying the attention, knowing that all of this had left her with a lot to think on.

Maybe...maybe he could change...possibly.

Bass had told her once when he first started following her that he had a lot to make up for. She had thought he meant Miles or her mother. Now, looking up to see the way he was watching her, a dim light of hope in his eyes, one he was trying to hide, but was there nonetheless, she thought perhaps one of the people he wanted to make amends with was her.

Charlie found herself not minding so much.


End file.
